


Messy

by SheepersPeepers



Category: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Pre-Quest, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:00:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25568638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SheepersPeepers/pseuds/SheepersPeepers
Summary: Sam is a bad liar with what he thinks is a terrible secret...
Relationships: Frodo Baggins/Sam Gamgee
Comments: 15
Kudos: 44





	Messy

"Samwise, are you quite alright?" Frodo asked, laying his hand gently on Sam's shoulder. "You look flushed."

"I-it's just the sun, Mr Frodo, I'm fine." he replied in an oddly shrill tone. He winced, shifting his weight from foot to foot nervously as he realised that it was really quite chilly and that he was close to shivering from the cold as he spoke.

Sam had never been a good liar, that's what his parents always told him. Couldn't stop himself from blabbing about where he stashed his stolen sweets, almost immediately told his family about his brother's girlfriend, hell, he couldn't even hide the tiny snail - named 'Pettoonie' by Sam and his sisters - he had picked up from the garden and generously gave a home on his potted petunias.

But /this/ fib. Oh, this was far more terrible than hidden toffees. Worse than revealing a partner, worse than his Da finding a little slimy creature nibbling on the flowers that he grew specially for Sam's bedroom. This wasn't just Sam lying to his sisters, brothers and parents about something small and insignificant that concerned them. 

This concerned Frodo, and one of his finest waistcoats.

Sam was taken back to reality by Frodo's voice, a voice that always made his heart beat fast with what was normally adoration and love, but today was skittish fright. "If it's just the sun, then how about I get you into the smial for a glass of water, then? That would surely help." Frodo smiled, taking his hand from Sam's shoulder to ruffle the lad's sweaty hair. 

"Aye, that would be lovely!" Sam cried, quickly correcting his unnecessary enthusiasm with a cough. "Th-that would be lovely, Mr Frodo."

Grinning, Frodo walked towards the round green door of Bag End and opened it. Amazed that Frodo had bought his lie, Sam scuttled into the hallway, heart thumping in his ears like a disgruntled rabbit's foot. All he needed to do was get into Frodo's room without detection, scrub the mess from the beautiful weskit and get out without so much as an inquisitive glance.

"I'll go get your water now, ok? You just stay here." Frodo made his way into the kitchen, humming as he went.

Now it was Sam's chance! With the sounds of running water in his ears, he puffed out a breath, ready to rush to Frodo's room. Just as he took his first tentative step towards Frodo's door, Frodo came back with a glass, oblivious and grinning. "Here you go, Sam-lad."

Sam's mind raced. How in all of the Shire was he going to get Frodo distracted long enough to complete his task? A quiet rumble in his stomach answered him, and he barely stopped himself from crying /that's it!/.

"Uh, M-Mr Frodo, I couldn't trouble you for a ch-cheese sandwich, could I?" Sam asked, taking the water from Frodo's hand. Pausing for a moment, Sam noticed the smile playing on Frodo's lips. He took three gulps from his glass to calm his nerves. "I'm proper starvin'."

"Of course!" And there Frodo went into a pantry, trusting Sam to stay put. A little pang of guilt tugged at Sam's heart but he knew what he had to do, so the second he heard Frodo's steps come to a halt, he put the glass down on a nearby table and started running.

The sound of his feet tapping against the planks of the hallway seemed to echo in his ears. When he finally reached Frodo's room, he rushed through the doorway, instantly throwing open the wardrobe doors to reveal-- the waistcoat wasn't there. Sam had left it hidden in the corner, but it was gone. 

Despairing, Sam dropped to his knees, opening one of Frodo's drawers. Still no sign of it. So he opened another, and another, and another until they were all open and he was elbows deep in soft fabrics. 

"Where's it gone?!" Sam whispered, "Oh stars, I swear it was here!"

"Where's what gone, Sam?" Frodo asked from the hall.

Sam spun around just as Frodo entered. He was holding a cheese sandwich on a plate, hurriedly placing it on the chest of drawers so hard it clattered.

"What are you doing?!" Frodo yelled, pulling Sam to his feet by his shirt collar. 

"I-I - uh - umm--" Sam stuttered, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. He knew he shouldn't have been there, sifting through Frodo's clothes like a no-good thief. "I ain't stealin', Mr Frodo, I swear!"

Mortified, Sam looked down at his hands, gasping in shock when he realised what he was clutching; Frodo's smallclothes. "It's not what it looks like, Sir!" 

"What is it, then?!" Frodo snapped, snatching his underwear from Sam's hold. "Tell me why you're rifling through my drawers!"

Sam fiddled with his fingers and stared at his feet, the furnace in his mind heating up to forge a believable lie. "Well, umm... There was a bird, Mr Frodo, and it flew through the window! It went into your drawers, and I was only trying to catch it!"

Frodo's angered expression softened to one of amusement, grinning down at Sam with a hand on his hip. "Where's the bird, then?"

"It... flew away when you came in...?" Sam attempted, smiling sheepishly.

Frodo laughed, shaking his head fondly. "This is about the waistcoat, isn't it?" Before Sam could stammer out a reply, Frodo continued, "I found it this morning, it's hanging out on the line."

"I-I - you - uh - What?" Sam spluttered, "You found a waistcoat with jam all over it and you didn't take a moment to think it was odd? B-beggin' your pardon, Sir."

"I doubt any burglar would be careless enough to leave a large smudge of jam on a waistcoat, Sam." Sam nodded stupidly, looking down at his feet again. "Can you explain how this came about? No bad lies this time."

/Samwise, you right plum.../ Sam thought, frowning to himself. 

"Alright..." Sam took a deep breath, looking up at Frodo. "I was cleanin' and dustin' your wardrobe and I was eatin' one of me Ma's jam scones, you see, Sir. I saw a spider and I got scared so I dropped the scone and wouldn't you know, it landed jam-side-down straight on your waistcoat and I was tryin' to wipe it off but you know what jam's like; darn sticky stuff, and this was Gaffer's special blackberry jam-"

"Samwise!" Frodo chortled, "You're rambling, dear."

"Oh, I'm just so sorry, Mr Frodo!" Sam said, bottom lip trembling. 

"No, no, it's quite alright." Frodo sighed, giving Sam a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Next time, just tell me and don't get yourself into a tizzy over nothing."

Nodding, Sam hesitantly pulled Frodo into a hug, smiling and resting his chin on Frodo's shoulder when the hug was returned. "Thank you for not gettin' mad." he whispered. 

Frodo said nothing, unconsciously rubbing circles into Sam's back. He always made everything better, from telling Sam a funny story after a long day to consoling him after Pettoonie was evicted, there was not a thing that Frodo couldn't fix. Seconds seemed to stretch into hours as Frodo held Sam until eventually he pulled away.

They just stared into each others eyes, hearts beating so loud that they might as well as been drums. A hot red blush began to creep its way across both of their faces, and they leaned in-

"Oh, those damned Sackville-Bagginses!" The front door closed with a slam.

Frodo hastily pulled away, looking at Sam one last time before he walked out of the room. "What happened this time, Bilbo?" he called, and Sam faintly heard the old hobbit call back but what was said Sam couldn't have guessed. He was too busy thinking about what had just happened, wishing he could have captured the look in Frodo's eyes in a painting before the vision was taken away from him as quickly as a soaring bird.

"Samwise, you ninnyhammer," Sam whispered, a bashful yet giddy smile painting his face.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you like it, and comments would be seriously appreciated!


End file.
